GIFT   OF 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTY    COPIES 

OF 

THIS    BOOK    PRINTED 

FOR    PRIVATE    DISTRIBUTION 

ENTITLED 

LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 

CONTAIN    COPIES    OF    LETTERS    REFERRING   TO 

THE    PRIVATELY    PUBLISHED    BOOK 

ENTITLED 

MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 


^ 


^' 


"The  Author's  Book  case  in  the  Woodward 
Museum  and  Graduate  Room  (Woodward  High 
School,  Cincinnati,  Ohio)  has  been  enriched  with 
a  beautiful  volume  (the  book  Mrs.  Louise  E. 
Bettens)  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Edward  D. 
Bettens,  class  of  1868  (Woodward  High  School). 
This  is  the  second  work  of  Mr.  Bettens'  we  have, 
and  like  the  first,  is  a  tribute  of  love.  The  first 
was  a  tribute  to  his  brother,  Thomas  S.  Bettens, 
class  of  1870  (Woodward  High  School),  who 
passed  away  some  ten  years  ago.  The  one  just 
received  is  a  memorial  as  to  his  mother,  Mrs. 
Louise  E.  Bettens.  It  was  she  who  by  her  un- 
daunted courage  and  self-sacrifice  made  it  pos- 
sible for  her  sons  to  attend  Woodward  and  later 
to  be  graduated  from  Harvard.  They  in  turn 
filled  her  later  years  with  all  that  wealth  could 
bring,  not  leaving  out  devotion  and  loyalty  to 
her  every  wish.  Indeed  her  wishes  were  antici- 
pated. Woodward,  with  its  pleasant  memories, 
has  ever  been  dear  to  the  household  of  Mrs. 
Bettens."  (From  The  Oracle,  November,  1917, 
published  by  the  students  of  Woodward  High 
School,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.) 


v'?K&-; :: 


130  West  87th  Street 
New  York,  December  7th,  1917. 

Miss  Eleanor  C.  O'Connell, 
Woodward  High  School, 
Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Dear  Miss  O'Connell: — 

Thank  you  for  The  Oracle,  and  the  Woodward 
Manual.  Of  course  the  appreciation  in  The 
Oracle,  gratifies  me.  It  indicates  that  the  book, 
Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens,  may  be  read  by  some 
people. 

If  my  Mother's  life  teaches  anything,  it  is  the 
joy  of  doing  what  is  to  be  done,  without  repining, 
regretting,  or  wishing  that  something,  in  the  past, 
might  have  been  different. 

To  one  of  her  disposition,  poverty,  work  and 
other  alleged  handicaps,  are  not  depressing  draw- 
backs, but  are  conditions  of  life  that  may  be 
changed  for  the  better — and  that  struggle  for 
something  better  is  the  salt  of  life. 

Sincerely, 

Edward  D.  Bettens. 


PRESENTED 
BY 

EDWARD    DETRAZ   BETTENS 

AS    A    COMPANION     BOOK 
OF    THE     PRIVATELY     PUBLISHED     BOOK 

MRS.  LOUISE   E.  BETTENS 


COPIES    OF   THE    BOOK 
ENTITLED 

MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 

have  been  deposited  in  the  libraries  mentioned  in  the 
letters  now  published.  That  book  is  on  deposit  in  the  fol- 
lowing libraries : 

The  Harry  Elkins  Widener  Library,  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts. 

The   Phillips  Brooks  House,   Cambridge,   Massa- 
chusetts. 

The  Public  Library  of  the  City  of  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

The   Public   Lirbary  of  New  York  City,   Astor, 
Lenox  and  Tilden  Foundations. 

The  Grolier  Club,  New  York  City,  New  York. 

The  Harvard  Club  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

The  Public  Library  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Woodward  High  School,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

The  Library  of  Congress,  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia. 

The  University  of  Wisconsin   Library,  Madison, 
Wisconsin. 

The   Leland   Stanford  Junior  University,   Stan- 
ford University,  California. 


CONTENTS 

I 

Letters 

PAGE 

Henry  Adams,  Class  of  1858,  Harvard  College. . .  1 
Bertha  E.  Blakely.  Librarian  of  Mount  Holyoke 

College    2 

William  A.  Neilson,  President  of  Smith  College.  .  4 
Charles  W.  Eliot,  Class  of  1858,  Harvard  College, 

President  Emeritus  Harvard   University....    6;  21 

Dr.  George  C.  Williamson 7 

Arthur  T.  Hadley,  President  Yale  University.  ...  10 
Jacob  S.  Schurman,  President  Cornell  University  11 
John    Grier    Hibben,    President    Princeton    Uni- 
versity    12 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  President  of  Columbia 

University    13 

II 

The  Louise  E.  Bettens  Memorial 15 

III 

Quasi-autobiographical    23 

IV 

Lake    O'Hara 35 


Letters 

PAGE 

Mary  E.  Woolley,  President  Mount  Holyoke  Col- 
lege     41 

Henry  C.  King,  President  Oberlin  College 42 

Azariah   S.   Root,  Librarian  Oberlin  College ....  43 

H.  M.  MacCracken,  President  Vassar  College 44 

Eliza  A.  Blaker,  President  The  Teachers  College 

of  Indianapolis 45 

Virginia  C.  Gildersleeve,  Dean  Barnard  College . ,  46 
Ellen  F.  Pendleton,  President  Wellesley  College .  .  47 
Le  Baron  Russell  Briggs,  President  Radcliffe  Col- 
lege     48 

Henry  Lefavour,  President  Simmons  College 49 

William  Coolidge  Lane,  Librarian  Harvard  Col- 
lege     51 

Lois  A.  Reed,  Librarian  Bryn  Mawr  College 52 

Charles   S.   Penhallow,   Secretary  Class  of   1874, 

Harvard  College 53 

Herbert  Putnam,  Librarian,  Library  of  Congress.  54 
Charles    M.    Merry,    Principal    Woodward    High 

School 55 

E.  Hodgkins 56 

VI 

Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens 57 


MRS.  LOUISE    E.  BETTENS 

DECEMBER   1907 
FROM     A     PAINTING    IN     MINIATURE    BY 

ALYN   WILLIAMS 

FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH    OF   A    PORTRAIT 

PAINTED    BY 

WALTER    FLORIAN 


LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 


NEW    YORK 
NINETEEN   HUNDRED  AND  EIGHTEEN 


^  -' 


£^^ 


^  s 


Beverly  Farms,  Mass., 
June  11th,  1917 

Dear  Bettens: 

Thanks  for  your  charming  volume  (Mrs. 
Louise  E.  Bettens)  which  arrived  yesterday  and 
which  I  have  read  already  with  much  interest 
and  with  a  strong  wish  that  all  my  old  scholars 
might  have  shown  as  much  appreciation  of  the 
education  they  have  received  at  home  and  abroad 
as  you  have  done. 

The  volume  is  a  model.  I  wish  I  could  claim 
ever  to  have  done  as  good. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Henry  Adams 

Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens. 


381890 


THE  LIBRARY 

MOUNT  HOUYOKE  COLLEGE 


South  Hadley,  Massachusetts 
November  22,  1917. 

Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens, 

130  West  87th  Street, 

New  York  City. 

My  dear  Mr.  Bettens: — 

The  beautiful  memorial  volume,  Mrs.  Louise 
E.  Bettens,  which  you  sent  to  President  WooUey 
has  been  put  among  the  treasures  in  the  library. 
All  who  have  seen  it  have  expressed  great 
appreciation. 

Under  another  cover  I  am  sending  you  a  copy 
of  the  Mount  Holyoke  News  containing  a  de- 
scriptive note  on  this  gift. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Bertha  E.  Bi^akely 
.  Librarian 


A  volume  of  rare  beauty  and  interest  has  been 
presented  to  the  Hbrary,  one  copy  out  of  an 
edition  of  twenty-six  printed  for  private  distribu- 
tion. The  aesthetic  distinction  given  to  the  book 
by  a  cochineal  Levant  binding  of  Stikeman's,  by 
fine  printing  on  Japan  paper,  and  by  reproduc- 
tions of  paintings  by  Alyn  Williams,  La  Farge, 
Whistler,  Sargent,  and  Copley,  enhances  its 
quality  as  a  personal  memorial  to  Mrs.  Louise 
E.  Bettens,  whose  beautiful  and  forceful  char- 
acter is  here  made  real  to  the  reader's  imagina- 
tion. This  is  the  same  Mrs.  Bettens  in  whose 
honor  a  devoted  son  has  provided  a  foundation 
at  Harvard.  The  gift  will  be  placed  for  a  time 
in  the  exhibition  case  in  the  Library  of  the 
Masters.  (From  the  Mount  Holyoke  News, 
November  21,  1917.) 


SMITH    COLLEGE 

NORTHAMPTON.    MASSACHUSETTS 

OFFICE    OF   THE    PRESIDENT 

Oct.  3,  1917. 
Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens. 
Dear  Sir: — 

I  have  received  from  you  the  voUime  entitled 
"Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens",  and  wish  to  send  you 
cordial  thanks  on  behalf  of  Smith  College. 

During  my  long  sojourn  at  Harvard,  just  con- 
cluded, I  had  become  familiar  with  the  fountain 
(memorial  of  Thomas  Simms  Bettens)  in  the 
Union  and  the  other  beautiful  and  original 
memorials  of  your  mother  and  brother.  Not 
until  I  read  the  sketch  in  the  volume  just  re- 
ceived, however,  did  I  realize  the  beauty  of  the 
character  which  had  inspired  such  devotion.  I 
will  see  to  it  that  this  book,  so  rich  outwardly 
and  inwardly,  is  guarded  with  care,  yet  made 
accessible  to  our  young  women.  I  hope  to  bring 
it  to  their  attention  when  I  meet  the  assembled 
college  tomorrow  morning.  It  cannot  fail  to  help 
fulfil  your  purpose  to  bring  the  example  of 
Louise  E.  Bettens  before  these  two  thousand 
girls. 

With  many  thanks,  I  am. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

W.  A.  Neilsgn.'*' 

♦Professor  of  English  in  Harvard  University  until  in 
1917  he  became  President  of  Smith  College. 


SMITH    COLLEGE 

RARE   GIFT   TO    THE    LIBRARY-FIRST    ART    EXHIBITION 

OPENS    OCTOBER    21 


Northampton,  Oct.  6  (Special) — At  the  last 
Smith  College  chapel  exercises  President  Neil- 
son  took  the  occasion  to  announce  the  presenta- 
tion to  the  Browning  Room  of  the  library  of  a 
new  book  entitled  -"Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens."  In 
characterizing  the  book  President  Neilson  said: 
"It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  that  w^e  possess, 
as  it  is  one  of  the  most  exquisite  pieces  of  book- 
making  in  respect  to  its  binding  and  illustrations ; 
but  it  is  even  more  valuable  than  this  because  of 
its  contents."  The  story  is  a  tribute  written  by 
a  son  to  his  mother,  who  was  left,  while  still 
young,  a  widow  with  three  sons  to  support.  As 
a  teacher  and  newspaper  woman  she  struggled 
and  managed  to  put  these  sons  through  college. 
Blindness  and  paralysis  overtook  her,  but  she 
persevered,  and  became  a  woman  of  great  cul- 
ture. Two  of  the  sons  died.  The  third,  who  did 
not  marry,  stayed  with  her  to  the  end,  and  has 
published  this  volume  as  a  memorial  to  her  devo- 
tion. There  have  been  published  only  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  copies  of  this  book,  which  are  for 
private  distribution.  (From  Boston  Evening 
Transcript,  October  6th,  1917.) 


Cambridge,  Mass.,  13  October,  1916. 
Dear  Mr.  Bettens: 

It  is  an  exquisite  volume  you  have  prepared 
about  your  mother,  and  I  thank  you  heartily  for 
sending  it  to  me.  One  interesting  fact  which  the 
portraits  contained  in  this  book  bring  out  is  the 
strong  likeness  between  your  mother  and  her 
children.  It  is  a  grievous  reflection,  however, 
that  a  family  in  which  so  much  physical  beauty 
was  united  with  such  high  intelligence  and  char- 
acter is  coming  to  an  end  with  you. 

In  all  of  the  Memorials  you  have  designed  of 
your  mother  and  your  brother  Thomas,  you  have 
shown  a  fine  sense  of  fitness,  and  an  exquisite 
taste,  in  addition  to  strong  family  affection.  May 
I  hope  that  your  interest  in  these  Memorials  will 
lead  to  your  re-visiting  the  College  Yard,  and 
in  other  ways  to  your  abandoning  your  too  great 
seclusion  in  New  York.  You  could  exert  a  whole- 
some influence  on  your  classmates  and  friends 
if  you  met  them  oftener  in  natural  ways. 

Your  brother's  life  and  your  own  have  been 
determined  largely  by  your  unusual  inheritances, 
and  by  the  education  which  you  received  through 
your  mother's  sacrifice  and  labors.  You  have  no 
children  of  your  own;  but  you  will  probably  be 
able  by  and  by  to  give  a  like  happy  determina- 
tion to  the  lives  of  children  in  other  generations, 
that  otherwise  might  have  missed  your  happy 

experience.  c-  i 

^  bmcerely  yours, 

Charles  W.  Eliot. 

Edward  D.  Bettens,  Esq. 


!  Burgh  House,  Well  Walk, 

Hempstead,  London  N.  W.  England, 

November  11th,  1916. 

Edward  D.  Betters,  Esq., 
130  West  87th  Street, 
New  York  City. 

My  dear  Sir: — 

Yesterday  I  received  from  you  a  charming 
Httle  book  concerning  your  late  mother,  sent  to 
me,  I  take  it,  on  the  recommendation  of  my  old 
friend  Alyn  Williams,  who  is  responsible  for 
many  of  the  illustrations  in  the  volume,  and 
whose  portrait  of  yourself,  facing  page  26, 
appears  to  me  to  be  one  of  his  best  and  most 
important  works.  Permit  me  to  express  to  you 
my  very  hearty  thanks  for  this  delightful  addi- 
tion to  my  library.  May  I  say,  in  the  first  place, 
how  delighted  I  am  with  the  general  efifect  of 
the  volume.  It  is  charmingly  printed,  delight- 
fully illustrated,  and  bound  in  the  most  sump- 
tuous fashion.  It  is  quite  a  joy  to  peruse  and 
to  handle.  Furthermore,  as  a  tribute  of  affec- 
tion to  your  mother,  who  must  have  been  one  of 
the  best  and  noblest  of  American  women,  the 
book  is  particularly  valuable,  and  is  a  very  grace- 
ful tribute,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  say  so,  on 

7 


the  part  of  a  son  to  a  mother.  I  am  sure  that  it 
must  have  been  a  great  joy  to  you  to  make  all 
the  necessary  arrangements  to  the  honour  both 
of  your  mother  and  of  your  brother,  and  to  pre- 
pare for  your  friends,  and  especially  for  those 
who  knew  and  know  you,  this  charming  tribute 
to  those  who  have  passed  away,  and  whose 
memory  is  so  fragrant  to  those  who  survive.  I 
shall  value  the  precious  little  book  very  highly, 
and  am  extremely  grateful  to  you  for  sending  it 
to  me,  and  to  Alyn  Williams  for  mentioning  my 
name  to  you  in  this  respect. 

I  hope  that,  if  ever  you  are  in  England,  you 
will  allow  me  the  privilege  of  meeting  you,  and 
should  you  issue  any  other  privately  printed  book, 
you  will  not  forget  that  a  copy  of  it  will  be 
warmlv  welcomed  in  this  house,  will  be  much 
appreciated,  and  will  be  highly  valued. 

I  myself  have  been  the  author  of  some  few 
books,  perhaps  the  enclosed  list  of  them  may  be 
of  some  interest  to  you. 

Yours  very  truly, 

G.  C.  WiLIvIAMSON. 


New  York,  November  30,  1917. 

Dr.  Arthur  T.  Hadley, 

President  of  Yale  University, 
New  Haven,  Connecticut. 

Dear  Sir: — 

The  life  and  character  of  Mrs.  Louise  E. 
Bettens,  sketched  in  the  book  (entitled  Mrs. 
Louise  E.  Bettens)  which  accompanies  this  letter, 
has  had,  through  her  son,  Thomas  Simms 
Bettens,  some  influence  on  some  of  the  graduates 
of  Yale,  Columbia,  Princeton  and  Harvard 
Universities. 

The  Fountain,  and  Inscription  thereon,  photo- 
graphs of  which  are  in  this  book,  were  placed  in 
the  Harvard  Union,  Harvard  University,  by 
graduates  of  these  four  Universities,  in  memory 
of  their  teacher,  Thomas  Simms  Bettens. 

Perhaps  this  sketch,  suggesting  the  life  and 
character  of  Mrs.  Bettens,  may  have  a  good  in- 
fluence on  some  students  at  Yale  University. 

I  offer  that  book,  as  a  gift,  to  Yale  University, 
and  hope  it  will  be  reasonably  protected  from 
dust,  and  from  indiscriminate  handling. 

Please  let  me  know  that  Yale  University 
accepts  the  book  and  oblige 

Yours  truly, 

Edward  D.  Bettens. 


YALE   UNIVERSITY 
NEW    HAVEN.   CONNECTICUT 


President's  Office  ' 

Woodbridge  Hall,  105  Wall  Street. 

November  22,  1917. 

My  dear  Mr.  Bettens: — 

Let  me  acknowledge,  with  cordial  thanks,  the 
receipt  of  the  wonderfully  handsome  memorial 
volume  of  Mrs.  Bettens,  which  I  shall  at  once 
deliver  to  the  Yale  Library. 

In  accepting  it  I  beg  to  express  my  grateful 
acknowledgments  both  of  the  book  itself  and  of 
the  influence  of  the  life  which  it  commemorates. 
Please  accept  also  my  personal  thanks  for  the 
charming  note  with  which  you  have  accompanied 
it. 

Very  sincerely, 

Arthur  T.  Hadley. 

Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens, 

130  West  87th  Street, 

New  York  City. 


10 


OFFICE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT 
CORNELL   UNIVERSITY 

Ithaca,  New  York,  December  1,  1916. 

My  dear  Sir: — 

I  received  and  read  yesterday — Thanksgiving- 
Day — the  exquisite  volume  in  Memory  of  your 
Mother  which  you  were  good  enough  to  send  me. 
I  may  add  that  I  not  only  read  it  but  re-read 
portions  of  it  aloud  and  examined  the  pictures 
with  the  greatest  care.  The  volume  interested 
me  to  an  extraordinary  degree. 

It  is  a  record  of  womanly  capacity  and  maternal 
self-sacrifice,  happily  rewarded  by  filial  devotion, 
of  which  I  can  not  recall  a  parallel.  After  the 
volume  has  been  more  closely  examined  by  Mrs. 
Schurman  and  my  daughters,  I  intend  turning  it 
over  to  the  University  Library  where  it  can  not 
fail  to  prove  a  source  of  inspiration  to  the  young 
men  and  women  of  this  University  into  whose 
hands  the  book  may  come  in  the  course  of  this 
and  future  generations. 

Thanking  you  for  your  very  great  courtesy  in 
sending  me  the  volume,  I  remain 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

J.  G.  Schurman. 

Edward  Detraz  Bettens,  Esq. 

11 


PRINCETON   UNIVERSITY 

PRINCETON.    N.  J. 


November  22,  1917. 


PRESIDENT  S   ROOM 


My  dear  Mr.  Bettens: 

I  have  received  your  letter  and  also  a  copy  of 
the  memorial  to  Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens.  I 
greatly  appreciate  your  thought  of  Princeton  in 
sending  us  this  beautiful  book  with  its  record  of 
so  beautiful  and  courageous  a  life.  I  am  placing 
the  book,  as  you  desire,  in  our  University 
Library  and  I  can  assure  you  that  it  will  receive 
the  care  which  is  its  due. 

With  assurance  of  my  high  regard,  believe 
me, 

Faithfully  yours, 

John  Grier  Hibben. 

To— 

Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens, 
New  York  City. 


12 


COLUMBIA     UNIVERSITY 

IN  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 

PRESIDENT'S    ROOM 


December  4th,  1917. 

Edward  D.  Bettens,  Esq., 
130  West  87th  Street, 
New  York  City. 

Dear  Sir: — 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  letter  of  December  1st  and  the  accom- 
panying volume,  which  it  will  give  me  very  great 
pleasure  to  place  in  the  library  of  the  University 
for  permanent  preservation. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler. 


13 


THE  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 
MEMORIAL 


IS 


New  York,  April  10, 1917. 

Dear  Ware  : — 

Your  letter  received.  I  have  always  hoped 
that  my  Mother's  character — one  of  aspiration 
under  difficulties — might,  if  known,  help  and  en- 
courage others  when  in  trouble.  How  to  call  at- 
tention to  that  character  was  and  is  the  problem. 
I  am  still  working  at  it,  and  perhaps  will  continue 
to  do  so,  as  long  as  I  live. 

The  poet  has  described  her  life  of  Aspiration: 
Build  thee  more  stately  mansions,  O 

MY  SOUL, 

as  the  swift  seasons  roll ! 

Leave  thy  low  vaulted  past! 

Let  each  new  temple,  nobler  than  the 

LAST, 

Shut  thee  from  heaven  with  a  dome 

more  vast, 
Till  thou  at  length  art  free. 
Leaving  thine  outgrown  shell  by  life's 

unresting  sea! 

For  your  consideration,  and  in  answer  to  your 
letter,  I  enclose  a  statement  of  my  Mother's 
Memorial  in  Harvard  College.  I  prefer  that  my 
name  be  not  mentioned  in  that  statement  except 
where  it  is  unavoidable. 

Sincerely, 

Edward  D.  Bettens, 
Class  of  1873,  Harvard  College. 

Mr.  Arthur  L.  Ware, 

Secretary  Class  of  1873,  Harvard  College. 

17 


THE   LOUISE   E.  BETTENS  MEMORIAL 
HARVARD   COLLEGE 

Louise  E.  Rochat,  born  January  7,  1827,  on  a 
farm  near  Ghent,  Kentucky,  married  January 
31,  1843,  in  Vevay,  Indiana,  to  Alexander  Bet- 
tens,  was  the  mother  of  Frank,  Rose,  Edward 
Detraz  and  Thomas  Simms  Bettens,  naming  the 
children  in  the  order  of  their  births. 

Mrs.  Bettens  died  March  23,  1914,  in  New 
York  City,  her  husband  and  all  of  her  children 
except  Edward  having  predeceased  her. 

The  book,  Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens,  limited  to 
150  copies,  printed  on  Japan  paper,  bound  in 
Levant,  with  doublure  and  silk  flyleaf,  with  illus- 
trations, was  for  private  distribution  only. 

There  is  in  Harvard  College  a  foundation  for 
a  memorial  of  Mrs.  Bettens.  Beauty  and  Use- 
fulness have  been  controlling  factors  in  establish- 
ing this  memorial,  and  the  Fogg  Art  Museum, 
the  Phillips  Brooks  House  Association  and  the 
Widener  Library,  have  united  in  helping  to 
establish  it. 

The  Fogg  Art  Museum  controls  a  sum  of 
money,  amounting  at  present  to  Twenty  Thou- 
sand Dollars,  as  a  principal  fund,  known  as 

THE    LOUISE    E.  BETTENS   FUND 
ESTABLISHED  BY  HER  CHILDREN 

The  income  of  this  fund  is  to  be  used  to  en- 
courage and  advance  Painting  by  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  including  women,  as  well  as  men. 

The  Phillips  Brooks  House  Association  has  set 
aside  a  room  in  the  Phillips  Brooks  House  to  be 
known  as  The  Louise  E.  Bettens  Room. 

18 


The  Phillips  Brooks  House  Association  has 
Twenty-five  Hundred  Dollars,  as  a  principal 
fund,  to  be  kept  intact  and  to  be  known  as 

THE   LOUISE   E.   BETTENS   FUND 
PHILLIPS    BROOKS    HOUSE    ASSOCIATION 

The  income  of  that  Fund  is  to  further  the  ac- 
tivities of  the  Phillips  Brooks  House  Association, 
but  is  not  to  be  used  for  the  maintenance  of 
Harvard  College  buildings  or  for  the  expenses 
now  met  by  Harvard  College  or  by  the  existing 
Phillips  Brooks  House  Fund. 

The  Widener  Library,  in  its  Treasure  Room 
has  Ten  Books,  to  which  the  book,  Mrs.  Louise 
E.  Bettens,  is  to  be  added,  and  also  has  seven 
miniatures  painted  by  Alyn  Williams,  all  the  books 
and  the  miniatures  contained  in  one  cabinet. 

The  seven  miniatures  are  as  follows: 

Rose  and  her  Mother 1848 

Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens 1864 

Frank  Bettens 1864 

Thomas  Simms  Bettens,  Don  and 

Kebo 1906 

Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens 1907 

The    Reading   of   the    Medea   of 

Euripides   to   Mrs.    Louise   E. 

Bettens 1912 

Edward  Detraz  Bettens 1916 

Incidental  to  this  Memorial,  and  helping  to 
make  it  attractive  and  instructive,  Harvard  Col- 
lege has  accepted  the  following  paintings  which 
are  now  in  the  following  places,  to  wit : 

19 


In  Room  No.  790  of  the  Widener  Library  are : 

The  Head  of  a  Girl,  by  A.  Asti. 

A  Vestal  Virgin,  a  copy  on  delft  of  the 
Vestal  Virgin,  by  Angelica  Kauff- 
MAN  in  the  Dresden  Gallery. 

In  the  Louise  E.  Bettens  Room,  Phillips  Brooks 
House,  are: 

Two  portraits  of  Mrs.  Bettens  and  one 
portrait  of  Thomas  Simms  Bettens. 

A  landscape  in  oil,  by  a.  H.  Wyant. 

A  landscape,  water  color,  by  Eugene 
Deszagg. 


In  the  Fogg  Art  Muesum  are: 

Lake  O'Hara,  a  painting  in  oil,  by  John 

Singer  Sargent. 
Bridle  Path-Tahiti,  a  water  color,  by 

John  La  Farge. 
Sunday    Morning    Domberg,    a    water 

color,  by  James  McNeill  Whistler. 
Monmouth    before   James    II,   refusing 

TO    reveal    the    names    OF    HIS    ACCOM- 
PLICES,   AN    UNFINISHED    OIL    PAINTING, 

BY  John  Singleton  Copley. 

It  is  not  out  of  place  in  connection  with  this 
Memorial  to  mention  the  Fountain  in  the  Har- 
vard Union,  placed  there  as  a  memorial  of 
Thomas  Simms  Bettens,  by  some  of  his  pupils. 

Nor  should  the  Thomas  Simms  Bettens  Fund, 
established  in  1916  by  the  Harvard  Chapter  of 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  Alpha  of  Massachusetts,  be  over- 
looked. 

20 


Cambridge,  Mass., 
June  5,  1917. 
Dear  Mr.  Bettens: 

I  congratulate  you  heartily  on  the  means  you 
have  used  to  commemorate  your  mother  at  Har- 
vard University.  The  Fund  bearing  her  name  to 
be  administered  by  the  authorities  of  the  Fogg 
Art  Museum  is  likely  to  remain  useful  for  cen- 
turies. You  of  course  have  procured  from  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  a 
statement  accepting  the  Funds  on  exact  condi- 
tions of  trust. 

The  Fund  for  the  benefit  of  the  Phillips  Brooks 
House  Association  will  probably  be  long-lived  and 
always  useful. 

The  Cabinet  in  the  Widener  Library  is  a  very 
appropriate  memorial,  but  lacks  of  course  the  en- 
during usefulness  of  the  two  Funds. 

The  valuable  pictures  put  into  the  Fogg  Art 
Museum,  if  suitably  marked,  will  be  a  good  com- 
memoration so  long  as  the  pictures  endure;  for 
the  Fogg  Museum  is  an  admirably  secure  building 
as  regards  fire. 

The  best  memorial  of  a  mother  is,  however,  the 
work  of  her  children.  Your  brother  Thomas  did 
first-rate  work  as  a  teacher,  and  the  influence  of 
that  work  is  carried  forward  in  his  pupils.  I 
dare  say  you  have  done  work  of  like  value.  Will 
it  be  carried  forward  like  your  brother's? 

I  was  interested  to  notice  that  you  took  a  stanza 
from  Dr.  Holmes's  beautiful  poem  called  "The 
Chambered  Nautilus"  to  describe  your  mother's 
life.  He,  as  you  know,  was  a  physician  and  a 
Unitarian. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Charles  W.  Eliot. 
Edward  D.  Bettens,  Esq. 

21 


New  York,  June  6,  1917. 

Dear  Clarke  : 

You  and  Beaman*  will,  I  am  sure,  be  interested 
in  Dr.  Eliot's  letter  to  me  dated  June  5th  inst.,  a 
copy  of  which  is  enclosed. 

The  wise  and  experienced  Dr.  Eliot  says  in  his 
letter  to  me : 

"You,  of  course,  have  procured  from  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  a 
statement  accepting  the  funds  on  the  exact 
conditions  of  trust." 

Havel? 

I  have  been  less  interested  in  those  funds  (al- 
though they  are  of  great  interest  to  me  and  to 
what  I  am  trying  to  accomplish)  than  I  have  been 
in  the  book  "Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens",  and  what 
its  contents  suggest.  It  is  particularly  what  that 
book  suggests  that  I  have  had  constantly  in  mind. 
Anybody  who  has  the  spare  cash  can  give  money 
to  Harvard  College,  and  buy  pictures,  and  fur- 
nish rooms,  all  of  which  is  very  interesting.  But 
to  suggest  a  character  and  a  life,  omitting  many 
details,  is  quite  another  matter.  I  do  not  know 
whether  I  have  succeeded  in  producing  that  kind 
of  a  book. 

Sincerely, 

Edward  D.  Bettens. 

Samuel  B.  Clarke,  Esq. 

♦William  S.  Beaman,  Harvard  Class  of  1872. 

22 


QUASI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL 


23 


Grafton,  Massachusetts, 

October  27,  1916. 

My  dear  Bettens: 

I  most  sincerely  thank  you  for  sending  me  a 
book  which,  beautiful  and  exceptional  as  it  is,  is 
not  more  so  than  the  filial  spirit  which  called  it 
into  existence.  It  is  in  both  ways  very  impres- 
sive and  indeed  seems  to  me  to  be  unique  in  the 
full  and  strict  sense. 

You  have  made  a  record  of  your  Mother  and 
her  boys  which  is  going  to  endure,  and  I  do  not 
see  how  you  could  add  anything  to  make  it  any 
more  perfect. 

It  is  indeed  a  fine  expression  of  a  fine  family 
spirit. 

I  congratulate  you  on  your  success  in  working 
out  your  idea. 

With  kindest  regards,  I  am  as  ever. 

Your  classmate, 

Edward  P.  Usher, 

Class   of    1873, 
Harvard  College. 

Edward  D.  Bettens,  Esq. 


25 


New  York,  Oct.  14th,  1916. 

Dear  Bettens: 

On  returning  to  my  office,  after  three  weeks 
absence  from  New  York,  I  find  the  very  re- 
markable and  beautiful  book  "Mrs.  Louise  E. 
Bettens". 

It  is  a  precious  gift  indeed.  I  doubt  if  another 
son  ever  lived  who  devoted  more  loving  care  and 
interest  in  a  book  memorial  of  his  mother.  A 
short  and  simple  story  of  her  life  and  her  children, 
it  is  also  a  portrayal  of  your  own  character  and 
qualities. 

From  your  letters  and  from  our  interviews,  I 
have  been  quite  well  informed  as  to  the  work 
which  you  have  done  in  completing  this  book  and 
I  marvel  at  the  ability  which  you  have  shown  in 
the  matter. 

For  it  you  deserve  the  blue  ribbon. 

With  many  thanks,  congratulations  and  best 
wishes,  I  am. 

Yours  truly, 

Wm.  S.  Beaman.* 
Edward  D.  Bettens,  Esq. 
*Class  of  1872,  Harvard  College. 

26 


61  Brattle  St., 
Cambridge,  Oct.  3,  1916. 

My  dear  Bettens  : 

The  beautiful  book  has  arrived.  I  feel  deeply 
touched  by  this,  not  simply  because  you  have 
sent  me  this  book,  as  you  did  the  earlier  one  on 
your  brother,  Tom,  but  because  I  see  now — as 
I  said  earlier — the  beautiful  devotion  which  your 
immediate  family  steadily  practiced  among  your- 
selves when  here  together  on  earth,  and  which 
you  keep  alive  now  that  they  have  passed  on, 
leaving  you  alone. 

No  one  alive  believes  in  that  sentiment  more 
than  myself.  It  may  move  me  to  send  you  a 
sonnet. 

Cordially, 

Thomas  Fenton  Taylor.* 
Edward  D.  Bettens,  Esq. 

♦Class  of  1875,  Harvard  College. 


27 


16  Asii  St., 

Cambridge,  AIass., 
October  17,  1917. 
My  dear  Bettens  : 

This  morning  I  had  your  excerpt  from  Mr. 
Neilson's  address  to  the  Students  at  Smith  Col- 
lege. It  is  pleasant  reading,  but  I  expected  that 
he  would  touch,  if  not  enlarge,  upon  the  fine 
womanliness  of  the  case;  the  mother  never  ques- 
tioning her  heavy  responsibility;  the  obstacles  in 
her  path  in  meeting  what  she  knew  to  be  her 
duty ;  and  her  winning  out,  single  handed,  till  her 
sons  were  of  age  to  be  her  allies,  and  then  her 
supporters.  All  of  which  in  case  of  your  imme- 
diate family  are  unquestionably  exemplified — 
and  are  matters  which  our  educating  young 
women  need  to  know  about,  so  that  they  may 
flourish  always  among  women  of  culture  on 
earth. 

I  shall  carry  with  me  the  volume  you  gave  me, 
and  before  my  wind  up  comes,  I  intend  to  deposit 
it  in  the  great  library  (Victor  Emanuel)  in  Rome 
— as  a  memento  to  an  American  Mother,  fit  to  be 
ranked  with  the  Roman  Mothers  in  the  eternal 
city. 

Cordially 

Thomas  Fenton  Taylor. 
Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens. 

28 


HOBART  AND  WILLIAM   SMITH   COLLEGES 
GENEVA.    N.    Y, 


December  17th,  1916. 
My  dear  Bettens: 

Your  magnificent  book  came  safely  to  hand 
yesterday.  It  is  all  that  a  son  could  do  as  a 
beautiful  memorial  volume.  I  was  quite  as  much 
interested  in  the  means  you  have  devised  to  win 
your  mother's  (.and  brother's)  memory  the  de- 
served gratitude  of  "those  who  come  after",  by 
foundations  in  Cambridge.  I  hope  you  have  still 
larger  plans,  and  means  to  carry  them  out,  which 
will  point  the  way  for  the  wiser  general  use  of 
accumulated  wealth,  to  save  some  such  hardships 
as  you  knew. 

I  never  knew,  until  now,  what  a  heroic  strug- 
gle, by  your  mother  and  by  yourselves,  carried 
you,  both  boys,  to  and  thro'  college.  I  did  know, 
in  a  general  way,  that  you  were  earning  your 
own  expenses  by  tutoring.  In  fact,  more  even 
than  poor  old  Snow,*  you  loomed  up  to  me  as  a 
steadfast  purposeful  self-balanced  man  among  us 
futile  wind-swayed  boys.  Of  them  all,  it  seems  to 
me  I  was  about  the  most  unripe.  I  had  hardly 
earned  a  dollar,  had  no  insight  into  music,  art, 
social  refinements  or  human  character.     Uncon- 

*Freeman  Snow,  Class  of  1873,  Harvard  College. 

29 


sciously,  no  doubt,  you  a  hundred  times  gave  me 
a  helping  steadying  hand:  but  I  doubt  if  I  was 
ready  to  go  to  any  college,  especially  a  big  one,  at 
16,  at  all. 

I  remember  perfectly  the  keen,  whimsical,  toler- 
ant comprehension  of  our  childishness,  in  your 
big  dark  eyes  and  in  your  bantering  half-phrased 
criticism  on  our  confident  arguments. 

Your  face  is  not  even  3^et  radically  altered.  I 
have  no  doubt  you  are  still  restraining  youthful 
folly,  pacifying  instead  of  fomenting  quarrels  and 
litigation,  in  general  contributing  large  humorous 
good  sense  to  a  hasty  boyish  world,  which  was 
never  so  hopelessly,  suicidally,  mad  as  today. 

My  life  has  been  widely  different  from  yours. 
Against  my  wish  I  have  drifted  thro'  a  score  of 
wide-sundered  "homes".  But  in  other  ways  I  am 
deeper  anchored  than  you.  I  have  three  children 
— all  teaching,  all  with  Columbia  degrees! — five 
grandchildren,  a  lot  of  books,  mostly  out  of  print 
already, — and  one  or  two  more  I  would  print  if  I 
had,  to  spend  on  such  luxuries,  a  tithe  the  cost  of 
your  memorial !  In  a  thousand  directions  I  have 
over-expressed  myself  in  literary  or  scholastic 
forms,  in  these  swift  43  years, — all  which  makes 
me  admire  the  more  hopelessly  an  unified,  quiet, 
fruitful  character  and  career  like  your  own. 

— "Fast  falls  the  eventide",  but  it  isn't  too  late, 
is  it,  for  a  renewal  of  handclasps  and  greetings 
before  the  dark?  We  two  are  mostly  alone  again 
now.      (My    sons   have    their    own    families    in 

30 


Brooklyn  and  Rochelle,  my  daughter  teaches 
domestic  science  in  Auburn.)  We  always  have 
a  spare  bed  at  least.  Our  windows  look  out  on 
either  campus, — snow-covered  today.  Pack  a 
grip,  send  a  wire,  and  come  up  any  night.  The 
Lehigh  ''Black  Diamond"  is  as  convenient  as 
possible,  or  you  can  get  a  sleeper  on  the  N.  Y. 
Central,  only  we  are  on  the  Auburn  branch. 

I  think  I  never  had  but  a  single  glimpse  of  your 
beautiful  mother:  but  you  have  made  her  quite 
unforgettable.  Of  course,  she  has  full  credit  for 
all  your  life  has  been,  and  for  all  you  may  accomp- 
lish to  ease  other  tortured  souls,  to  enrich  other 
cramped  lives  struggling  up  to  light  and  happi- 
ness. You  see,  I'm  trying  to  resay  what  Eliot* 
has  said  better  already :  every  heroic  life  is  a  link 
in  an  endless  chain — whether  you  have  a  grand- 
son-namesake like  me,  or  not ! 

Sorry  I  haven't  written  oftener ! 

Believe  me  always,  dear  Bettens,  admiringly, 
loyally  and  aft'ectionately  yours, 

William  C.  LAWTON.f 

♦Charles  W.  Eliot. 

fClass  of  1873,  Harvard  College ;  Professor  of  Litera- 
ture, Hobart  and  William  Smith  Colleges. 


31 


New  York,  September  5,  1917. 

Dear  Mrs.  Warren  : 

Two  young  men,  one  born  on  a  farm  in  Wis- 
consin about  1860,  the  other  born  on  a  farm,  in 
Vevay,  Indiana,  in  1848,  went,  each  of  them,  to 
Massachusetts.  The  latter  entered  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1869,  with  One  hundred  and  thirty  dollars 
as  his  total  capital  for  a  four  years'  course  at  Col- 
lege, with  two  more  to  follow  in  the  Law  School. 

The  other  young  man  left  Dakota,  to  which 
place  his  father  had  moved,  having  two  hundred 
dollars  for  his  support  in  Boston,  in  his  pursuit  of 
a  literary  career. 

At  the  end  of  four  years,  in  June  1873,  the 
Indiana  boy  had  with  him,  in  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts, his  mother,  and  his  brother — the  latter 
a  Junior  at  Harvard  College. 

The  Wisconsin  boy  during  his  six  years  resi- 
dence in  Boston  sent  to  his  Mother  a  silk  dress 
and  to  his  father,  the  Memoirs  of  U.  S.  Grant — 
the  Wisconsin  boy  being  then  a  man  about 
twenty-seven  years  of  age. 

Yesterday  the  Indiana  boy — now  a  retired 
lawyer  living  at  130  West  87th  Street,  New  York 
City,  received  from  Stikeman  &  Co.,  26  copies  of 
a  book  entitled 

MRS.   LOUISE   E.  BETTENS 

He  placed  a  copy  of  that  book  on  a  table  last 
night,  and  alongside  of  it  placed  an  Autobi- 
ography, published  August  1917  by  Macmillan  & 
Co.    Its  title  is 

A  SON   OF  THE   MIDDLE  BORDER 
32 


Mr.  William  Dean  Howclls,  in  a  review  of  that 
Autobiography  in  the  New  York  Times  of  Au- 
gust 26,  1917,  said  that  he,  Mr.  Howells,  now  80 
years  old,  knew  of  no  Autobiography  that  was  its 
companion,  or  its  parallel — not  even  Goldoni's, 
Alfieri's,  Goethe's,  Rousseau's,  Mme.  Roland's, 
Franklin's  or  Marmontel's. 

The  next  morning  the  Indiana  boy  bought  a 
copy  of  that  Autobiography,  and  has  lived  with 
that  Wisconsin  boy  (Hamlin  Garland)  on  the 
farm,  in  the  School,  in  the  cars,  in  Boston. 

In  his  poverty  and  loneliness  a  Mrs.  Payne  of 
Hyde  Park,  Massachusetts,  invited  the  Wiscon- 
sin boy  to  her  home,  there  to  give  a  lecture,  and 
he  never  forgot  it,  nor  any  other  kindness,  that 
man  or  woman,  showed  him,  when  he  needed  it. 

About  1882  the  Indiana  boy  (myself) — then 
no  longer  a  boy — his  Mother  and  Brother,  were 
at  the  Belmont  Hotel,  Bar  Harbor,  Maine,  utter 
strangers  in  that  summer  resort. 

But  a  lady  in  that  hotel  (yourself)  spoke  to  his 
mother,  and  she  and  you  became  very  good 
friends. 

Does  the  Indiana  boy  forget  this  kindness? 
Please  do  not  again  ask  for  a  bill  on  account  of 
the  drawing  of  your  will. 

I  think  if  Augusta  read  to  you  "A  Son  of  the 
Middle  Border"  by  Hamlin  Garland,  the  War 
and  all  other  troubles  would  fade  from  your  mind. 

Sincerely, 

Edward  D.  Bettens. 

Mrs.  J.  Kearney  Warren. 

33 


Curtis  HoteIv, 
Lenox,  Massachusetts, 

September  19,  1917. 

My  very  dear  Friend  : 

I  think  it  is  worth  Hving  to  receive  such  a  let- 
ter as  you  wrote  me.  It  went  straight  to  my 
heart.  I  am  a  bankrupt  in  gratitude  to  you  for 
your  kindness  to  me  for  so  many  years,  and,  with 
all  the  many  calls  upon  you,  the  valuable  time  you 
have  given  to  me.  Believe  me  I  greatly  appreciate 
all  you  have  done  for  me,  and  I  wish  I  could  sit 
by  your  side  and  tell  you  all  I  would  say,  which  I 
cannot  express  on  paper. 

Your  dear  Mother  was  a  remarkable  character, 
such  a  wonderful  intellect,  and  such  a  warm 
heart.  I  loved  her  and  honored  her,  and  it  was  a 
privilege  to  have  her  for  a  friend. 

I  will  certainly  buy  "A  Son  of  the  Middle 
Border"  by  Hamlin  Garland,  and  have  Augusta 
read  it  to  me,  and  I  hope  "all  other  troubles  will 
fade  from  my  mind,"  but  the  book  I  value  exceed- 
ingly is  the  one  entitled 

MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 

It  is  so  full  of  interest,  and  I  am  so  glad  to  possess 
it. 

♦  4:  :(c  :tc  3|e 

Your  affectionate  and  grateful  friend, 

Susan  L.  Warren. 
Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens. 

34 


LAKE   O'HARA 

A    LANDSCAPE  PAINTED    BY 

JOHN    SINGER   SARGENT 

A   GIFT  TO 

HARVARD    UNIVERSITY 

FROM 

THE    LOUISE   E.   BETTENS   FUND 


35 


Grafton,  Mass.,  Jan.  8,  1917. 
My  Dear  Bettens  : 

I  congratulate  you  on  your  ability  to  make  such 
a  distinguished  gift  (the  landscape  Lake  O'Hara) 
to  the  (Fogg  Art)  Museum.  It  is  not  often  that 
you  could  gain  your  object  of  getting  an  effective 
memorial  and  at  the  same  time  add  so  much  to  the 
resources  of  the  Museum.  For  the  picture  must 
have  pleased  them  as  much  in  receiving  it  as  it  did 
you  in  giving  it.  I  am  sure  that  no  one  will  visit 
the  place  without  desiring  to  see  the  Bettens'  gift. 
Your  kind  spirit  is  going  to  tie  your  family  to 
Harvard  pretty  thoroughly,  and  I  am  glad  you 
were  able  to  do  it,  for  I  can  appreciate  the  pleas- 
ure it  must  give  you  every  day  you  live.  Few 
mothers  ever  had  such  a  son. 

It  is  a  long  time  since  we  were  together  in 
Stoughton  (Harvard  University).  It  is  hard  for 
me  to  realize  that  it  is  forty-eight  years  ago.  It 
ought  to  gratify  you  immensely  to  feel  that  you 
are  able  to  do  what  you  have  done.  Harvard 
must  always  recognize  you  as  one  of  her  most 
loyal  sons.  You  show  that  next  to  your  own 
Mother  your  affection  was  for  your  Alma  Mater. 
You  have  tied  the  two  together  so  that  they  can 
never  be  separated.  I  thank  you  for  remember- 
ing me  and  allowing  me  to  know  what  you  have 
done.    It  is  fine. 

Your  old  classmate, 

Edward  P.  Usher, 
Class  of  1873,  Harvard  College, 

Edward  D.  Bettens. 

27 


Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 

December  22nd,  1916. 


My  Dear  Bettens  : 

The  Sargent  picture  (Lake  O'Hara)  from  your 
Mother's  fund  is  on  exhibition — duly  marked— at 
the  Fogg  Art  Museum,  It  is  a  noble  transcript 
from  primeval  nature,  showing  sky,  earth,  rock, 
verdure,  barrenness,  water,  ice,  snow,  under  all 
varieties  of  color,  light,  shade  and  level. 

No  one  but  a  genius  could  have  pictured  such 
varied  vastness  in  so  small  a  compass  and  given 
to  the  spectator  the  impression  of  being  present  at 
this  very  vigorous  scene. 

I  congratulate  you  and  your  family  memorial 
here,  and  on  that  part  of  it,  I  congratulate  you 
especially. 

I  do  not  doubt  that  this  grand  view  of  wild, 
calm  nature  would  lend  itself  accurately  to  being 
photographed. 

In  its  way  this  Lake  O'Hara  is  the  bright  spot 
in  the  Fogg  Museum. 

Thomas  Fenton  Taylor, 

Class  of  1875,  Harvard  College. 


38 


LETTERS 


39 


MOUNT    HOLYOKE    COLLEGE 
SOUTH   HADLEY,   MASSACHUSETTS 


OFFICE   OF   THE   PRESIDENT 

November  Twenty-second,  1917. 

Mr.  Edward  Detraz  Bettens, 

130  West  Eighty-seventh  Street, 
New  York  City. 

Dear  Mr.  Bettens: 

Miss  Blakely,  our  librarian,  brought  the  beauti- 
ful book  which  you  gave  us  to  the  annual  meeting 
of  our  Library  Committee  held  this  week,  and  the 
members  were  enthusiastic  in  their  admiration. 
Miss  Blakely  told  me  that  it  is  on  exhibition  in 
our  special  exhibition  case,  where  it  is  under  glass 
and  well  kept,  although  every  one  has  a  chance  to 
see  it. 

Believe  me,  with  appreciation  of  your  thought- 
fulness, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Mary  E.  Woolley. 


41 


OBERLIN   COLLEGE 

OBERLIN.  OHIO 

OFFICE  OF  THE    PRESIDENT 


November  28,  1917. 

Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens, 

130  West  Eighty-seventh  St., 
NewYork,  N.  Y. 

My  Dear  Sir: 

Let  me  thank  you  for  remembering  Oberlin 
College  with  the  very  beautiful  copy  of  the  volume 
entitled  "Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens",  prepared  in 
memory  of  your  mother. 

It  is  an  exquisite  piece  of  work,  and  a  most 
lovely  memorial  to  a  devoted  mother. 

I  thank  you  again  for  your  kindness  in  making 
Oberlin  College  a  recipient  of  one  of  the  twenty- 
six  books  distributed  in  this  full  edition. 

Gratefully  and  sincerely  yours, 

Henry  C.  King. 


42 


OBERLIN  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

OBERLIN,    OHIO 
AZARIAH     S.    ROOT.    LIBRARIAN 

December  4,  1917. 

Edward  D.  Bettens, 
130  West  87th  Street, 
New  York  City. 

Dear  Sir  : 

This  Library  has  received  from  President 
Henry  Churchill  your  gift  to  the  Library,  "Mrs. 
Louise  E.  Bettens",  a  memorial  volume.  New 
York,  1916.  We  are  very  grateful  to  you  for 
presenting  us  with  a  copy  of  this  very  limited  edi- 
tion and  shall  take  pleasure  in  calling  to  the  at- 
tention of  our  Faculty  and  Students  this  worthy 
memorial  of  such  a  triumphant  life.  No  one  saw 
what  your  Mother  accomplished,  surrounded  by 
what  this  world  calls  handicaps,  without  being 
glad  that  such  a  person  has  lived.  You  have  given 
her  a  worthy  memorial  and  I  am  glad  that  we  have 
for  our  Library  this  record  of  such  honorable 
achievement. 

With  many  thanks,  I  am 

Sincerely  yours, 

AzARiAH  S.  Root, 

Librarian. 
43 


VASSAR    COLLEGE 

POUGHKEEPSIE.  N.  Y. 


November  15,  1917. 


PRESIDENT  S  OFFICE 


My  dear  Mr.  Bettens 


I  enclose  the  usual  formal  acknowledgment  of 
your  volume  "Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens",  but  I  can- 
not refrain  from  adding  a  personal  word  of  inter- 
est, after  reading  the  volume,  in  the  very  unusual 
memorial  which  you  have  succeeded  in  creating, 
which  testifies  to  the  deep  sense  of  the  love  and 
honor  upon  which  the  American  family  is  built. 

With  sincere  regards  to  you  I  beg  to  remain, 

Faithfully  yours, 

H.  M.  MacCracken. 

^Ir.  Edward  Detraz  Bettens, 
130  West  87th  Street, 
New  York  City. 


44 


THE   TEACHERS    COLLEGE   OF    INDIANAPOLIS 

OFFICE   OF   THE    PRESIDENT 

WILLIAM    N.    JACKSON    MEMORIAL 

AND 

ARMENIA   B.  TUTTLE   MEMORIAL 


December  3,  1917. 

Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens, 
130  West  87th  Street, 
New  York  City. 

My  dear  Sir  : — 

In  behalf  of  the  Faculty  and  students  of  the 
Teachers  College  of  Indianapolis,  I  wish  to  thank 
you  for  the  memorial  volume  entitled  "Mrs. 
Louise  E.  Bettens".  Your  thought  in  presenting 
this  book  to  the  College  is  appreciated.  Such  a 
volume  will  be  an  inspiration  to  our  young  women 
who  are  beginning  their  life  career. 

We  are  fortunate  in  having  the  permanent 
record  of  a  life  so  beautiful  and  full  of  inspiration 
as  was  the  life  of  your  mother.  From  the  art  of 
the  bookmaker,  it  is  a  volume  of  unusual  merit. 
We  shall  cherish  this  volume  and  care  for  it  as  1 
think  you  would  wish  us  to  do. 

With  sincere  appreciation,  I  am, 

Yours  truly, 

Eliza  A.  Blaker, 

President. 
45 


BARNARD    COLLEGE 

COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 

NEW    YORK 


OFFICE  OF  THE  DEAN 


November  7,  1917. 

Mr.  Edward  D.  Be:tte;ns, 
130  West  87th  Street. 

My  dear  Mr.  Bettens: 

Please  accept  my  very  hearty  and  sincere  thanks 
for  the  beautiful  bound  volume  dealing  with  the 
life  and  character  of  your  mother,  Mrs.  Louise  E. 
Bettens.  I  have  read  it  with  interest  and  with 
deep  appreciation  of  the  filial  devotion  which  in- 
spired your  publication.  The  book  will  be  pre- 
served in  our  library.  I  trust  that  it  may  serve  to 
bring  before  our  students  ideals  of  courage,  affec- 
tion and  high  character,  so  touchingly  exemplified 
in  the  life  of  Mrs.  Bettens. 

Believe  me, 

Faithfully  yours, 

Virginia  C.  Gildersleeve, 

Dean. 


46 


OFFICE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT 

WELLESLEY    COLLEGE 
WELLESLEY.  MASSACHUSETTS 

November  20,  1917. 

Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens, 
130  West  87th  Street, 
New  York  City. 

My  dear  Mr.  Bettens: 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  very  beau- 
tiful book  in  memory  of  your  mother,  Mrs.  Louise 
Bettens.  I  shall  take  pleasure  in  presenting  this 
book  to  the  college  library.  We  anticipate  open- 
ing some  time  during  the  present  year  a  Book- 
Lovers  Room  in  memory  of  the  late  Librarian  of 
the  College,  and  this  is  just  the  sort  of  book  we 
shall  be  glad  to  have  in  that  room,  since  it  will  be 
especially  attractive  for  students  to  examine  in 
their  leisure  hours. 

I  regret  that  I  have  been  so  long  in  acknowledg- 
ing this  beautiful  gift;  I  took  the  book  to  my 
house  to  examine,  and  through  inadvertence  failed 
to  realize  that  it  had  not  been  acknowledged. 

With  renewed  appreciation  of  your  generosity, 
I  am 

Sincerely  yours, 

ElLI;N  F.  PE:NDLi:TON. 
47 


RADCLIFFE  COLLEGE 
CAMBRIDGE.  MASSACHUSETTS 


October  8,  1917. 

My  dear  Mr.  Bettens: 

The  book  is  all  that  you  say  it  is.  My  class- 
mate T.  F.  Taylor,  spoke  to  me  about  it  last  night, 
and  told  me  that  you  had  heard  from  President 
Neilson.  The  letter  from  President  Eliot  is  as 
fine  as  it  is  characteristic. 

I,  myself,  will  take  the  book  to  the  Radcliffe 
Library.    Thank  you  very  much. 

Sincerely  yours, 

L.  B.  R.  Briggs. 

Edward  D.  Bettens,  Esq. 


48 


SIMMONS  COLLEGE 
BOSTON.    MASSACHUSETTS 


OFFICE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT 

November  1,  1917. 

Dear  Sir: 

I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  copy  of 
the  beautiful  volume  which  has  been  published  in 
memory  of  Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens.  I  shall  take 
great  pleasure  in  seeing  that  it  is  placed  in  the 
library  and  desire  to  express  our  grateful  appre- 
ciation of  the  s:ift. 


t>' 


Yours  truly, 

Henry  Lefavour. 


Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens, 
130  West  87th  Street, 
New  York  City. 


49 


The  Library  (of  Simmons  College)  has  re- 
ceived from  Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens  the  gift  of 
a  copy  of  the  very  beautiful  book  which  has  been 
prepared  in  memory  of  his  mother,  Mrs.  Louise 
E.  Bettens,  one  of  an  edition  limited  to  twenty- 
six  copies.  It  is  not  only  an  unusually  valuable 
example  of  fine  printing,  attractive  illustrations, 
and  beautiful  binding,  but  it  contains  the  record 
of  a  life  of  remarkable  character  and  sweet- 
ness. (From  the  Simmons  Quarterly,  November 
1917,  published  by  Simmons  College,  Boston, 
Massachusetts.) 


SO 


THE  PRESIDENT  AND   FELLOWS  OF 
HARVARD  COLLEGE 

have  received  a  copy  of  the  book  "Mrs.  Louise  E. 
Bettens"  for  use  in  the  Treasure  Room. 

A  GIFT  TO  THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY 

from  Edward  D.  Bettens,  Esq.,  for  which  they 
return  grateful  acknowledgment. 

William  Coolidge  Lane, 

Librarian. 

Edward  L.  Gookin,  Registrar. 

Harvard  College  Library, 

Cambridge,  October  30th,  1916. 


51 


November  30th,  1917. 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 
BRYN    MAWR   COLLEGE 

To  Edward  D.  Bettens^  Esquire, 

Dear  Sir: 

I  am  instructed  to  express  the  sincere  thanks  of 
the  Directors,  Faculty,  and  Students  for  your  wel- 
come gift  of  Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens — Memorial 
Volume,  and  to  inform  you  that  it  will  be  placed 
in  the  Library. 

Faithfully  yours, 

Lois  A.  Reed, 

Librarian. 

Bryn  Mawr,  Pennsylvania. 


52 


HARVARD    COLLEGE 
CLASS    OF    1874 


803  Sears  Building 

Boston,  May  9,  1917. 

OFFICE  OF  THE  CLASS  SECRETARY 

Dear  Mr.  Bettens: — 

I  received  yesterday  the  beautiful  memorial 
to  your  mother  which  I  have  read  and  reread  with 
great  interest.  It  is  certainly  a  very  lovely  tribute 
to  her  memory;  and  I  thank  you  very  much  for 
your  kindness  in  sending  me  the  copy. 

I  shall  place  this,  together  with  the  memorial 
of  my  classmate,  your  brother  Tom,  in  the  room 
of  the  Class  of  1874  at  the  Harvard  Club  in 
Boston. 

Very  sincerely, 

Chas.  S.  Penhallow, 

Secretary. 

Mr.  Edward  Detraz  Bettens, 
130  West  87th  St. 
New  York  City. 


53 


LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS 


OFFICE  OF  THE  LIBRARIAN 

Washington, 

December  4,  1917. 

My  dear  Sir: — 

There  is  on  my  desk  this  morning  your  letter  of 
December  1st,  and  the  copy  of  the  volume  entitled 
"Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens".  Let  me  hasten  to 
acknowledge  them,  with  appreciation  of  the  inter- 
est which  the  book  will  have  and  our  gratification 
that  the  Library  has  been  made  the  recipient  of  it. 

A  formal  acknowledgment  for  the  gift  will  be 
sent  to  you  under  separate  cover. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Herbert  Putnam, 

Librarian. 


Edward  D.  Bettens,  Esq., 
130  West  87th  Street, 
New  York  City. 


54 


WOODWARD   HIGH  SCHOOL 
CINCINNATI 


CHARLES   M.  MERRY 
PRINCIPAL 


October  4,  1917. 

My  dear  Mr.  Bettens  : 

Mr.  Pliny  A.  Johnston,  former  principal  of 
Woodward  High  School,  turned  over  to  me  the 
beautiful  copy  of  the  book  entitled,  "Mrs.  Louise 
E.  Bettens".  It  is  certainly  a  marvel  from  the 
standpoint  of  workmanship  and  book-craft. 

I  do  not  know  whether  you  are  aware  that  we 
have  a  graduates'  room  in  which  we  are  gradually 
collecting  things  pertaining  to  the  early  history 
of  Woodward  and  accounts  of  people  who  were 
connected  with  the  School  in  the  early  days. 

We  appreciate  this  book  very  much  and  we  will 
assure  you  it  will  be  given  excellent  care.  We 
thank  you  not  only  for  the  book  but  for  the  fact 
that  you  remembered  us. 

Most  sincerely  yours, 

CM.  Merry. 

Mr.  Edward  D.  Bettens, 
130  West  87th  St., 
New  York. 


55 


New  York,  September  14th,  1916. 

Edward  D.  Bettens,  Esq., 

130  West  87th  Street. 

Dear  Mr.  Bettens  : — 

I  must  write  and  tell  you  how  interested  I  am 
in  the  book  you  sent  me  to  look  at.  You,  with 
your  modesty,  have  conveyed  but  a  very  slig-ht 
opinion  to  me  of  your  mother,  but  your  book  has 
shown  me  what  a  wonderful  mother  she  was  to 
her  sons.  There  are  such  mothers,  I  know,  but  I 
do  not  think  there  are  many  sons  like  you  who 
appreciate  the  hardships  which  are  so  lovingly 
endured.  It  warms  my  heart  to  feel  that  I  know 
you,  and  if  I  may  say  so,  it  is  your  own  beautiful 
simplicity  that  appeals  to  me. 

I  can  only  add  that  I  feel  honored  that  you 
should  think  I  can  assist  you  in  carrying  out  your 
desire,  namely,  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  a 
really  grand  woman.  Hoping  that  you  will  not 
fail  to  call  on  me  at  any  time  for  any  advice  I  may 
be  able  to  give  you. 

Yours  very  truly, 

E.    HODGKINS. 


56 


MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 


57 


On  a  farm,  near  Ghent,  Kentucky,  there  was 
born,  January  7,  1827,  Louise  E.  Rochat,  the 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Nancy  Rochat.  A  reader 
of  books,  this  father  usually  had  one  with  him, 
even  when  at  his  work.  When  this  daughter 
was  old  enough,  she  became  his  companion,  and 
not  infrequently,  he  would  unhitch  the  horses 
from  the  plow,  or  stop  whatever  work  he  was 
doing,  and  read  aloud  to  his  daughter. 

The  Book  of  Job,  the  Psalms  of  David,  the 
poetry  of  Moore,  Burns  and  Byron  quickened  the 
mind  of  the  girl,  and  a  strong  desire  for  knowl- 
edge and  wisdom  early  came  to  this  child,  from 
such  a  father,  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  neg- 
leqted  farm  work  soon  ended  in  the  loss  of  the 
farm.  With  his  family,  Jacob  Rochat  went  to 
Vevay,  Indiana,  and  there  on  January  31,  1843, 
Louise  E.  Rochat,  not  yet  seventeen  years  of  age, 
married  Alexander  Bettens.  From  that  mar- 
riage were  born,  in  Vevay,  Frank,  Rose,  Edward 
Detraz  and  Thomas  Simms  Bettens,  naming  the 
children  in  the  order  of  their  births.  Rose,  born 
May  10,  1846,  died  June  28,  1849. 

The  girl,  Louise  E.  Rochat,  and  the  matron, 
Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens,  loved  nature  and  ani- 

59 


mals.  In  Vevay  a  crow  became  her  friend  and 
the  two  would  go  together  into  the  woods,  the 
crow  flying  off  among  the  trees,  but  returning 
to  its  friend  at  her  call. 

At  the  expiration  of  about  ten  years  of  mar- 
ried life,  Alexander  Bettens'  health  failed.  He 
never  regained  it,  dying  August  11,  1870. 

That  sickness,  and  financial  embarrassment, 
brought  Mrs.  Bettens  face  to  face  with  the  prob- 
lem of  supporting  and  educating  her  three  young 
sons  from  her  own  earnings. 

Teaching  for  a  few  years,  in  and  about  Vevay, 
gave  her  but  a  small  and  precarious  income,  and 
writing  for  the  newspapers,  none  at  all. 

About  1857  she  and  her  three  sons  were  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  for  about  ten  years  she 
remained  in  that  city,  with  them,  supporting 
them  with  wages,  never  more  than  about  twelve 
dollars  per  week. 

No  friendly  bird  visited  her  in  her  Cincinnati 
room.  No  books,  except  school  books,  were  pur- 
chased by  her  during  those  ten  years,  but  her 
boys  entered  and  passed  through  the  District 
Schools  into  the  Intermediate  Schools,  Frank 
being  in  Woodward  High  School  when  he  died 
March  10,  1864. 

The  poverty  and  grief  of  Frank's  mother,  the 
hopes,  centered  in  him,  shattered  by  his  death, 

60 


at  the  age  of  twenty,  did  not  interfere  with  the 
education  of  her  two  remaining  sons.  They 
passed  through  the  Intermediate,  and  Wood- 
ward High  Schools  of  Cincinnati,  and  entered 
Harvard  College,  and  at  the  age  of  forty-six, 
their  mother  joined  them  in  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  June,  1873. 

In  Appleton  Chapel,  she  heard  Edward  speak 
on  Hildebrand,  and  saw  him  receive,  on  com- 
mencement day,  in  June,  1873,  his  degree  of 
A.  B.  from  Harvard  College. 

She  remained  in  Cambridge,  and  in  June, 
1874,  Thomas  gave  her  his  Harvard  College 
diploma  of  A.  B.  received  by  him  that  month, 
and  the  next  year  she  received  from  him  his 
Harvard  College  diploma  of  A.  M. 

From  June,  1873,  until  she  died  she  and 
Edward  had  one  home. 

Thomas  was  a  teacher  in  Lake  Forest  Acad- 
emy, Lake  Forest,  Illinois,  during  1875  and  1876. 
In  1877  he  joined  his  mother  and  brother  in  New 
York  City,  where  Edward  was  a  lawyer,  and 
there  the  three  lived  united  in  one  home  until 
Thomas  died  July  2,  1907. 

In  the  Harvard  College  Library  (Gore  Hall) 
Mr.  John  Fiske  gave  Mrs.  Bettens  an  alcove  and 
a  special  table,  and  talked  with  her  about  music 
and  books.     In  Boston  she  attended  the  lectures 

61 


of  the  Reverend  James  Freeman  Clarke.  She 
absorbed  the  writings  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 
Congenial  friends  met  in  her  room  to  read  books, 
and  to  discuss  art,  music  and  literature,  and 
with  some  especial  friends,  she  attended,  in  Bos- 
ton, the  concerts  of  the  Symphony  Society.  So 
passed  about  three  years  of  her  life  in  Cam- 
bridge. 

The  last  thirty-eight  years  of  her  life  she  lived 
in  New  York  City.  She  was  in  Bar  Harbor, 
Maine,  for  the  summer,  for  about  thirty  succes- 
sive years,  up  to  and  including  the  summer  of 
1911.' 

She  went  to  the  Grand  Opera  in  New  York 
City  and  was  a  constant  attendant  at  the  Con- 
certs given  in  that  city,  by  Theodore  Thomas, 
Leopold  Damrosch,  the  New  York  Philharmonic 
Society  and  the  Oratorio  Society.  She  did  not 
neglect  lighter  music  such  as  Gilbert  and  Sulli- 
van's. She  heard  Salvini,  Booth,  Irving,  Mod- 
jeska  and  Sara  Bernhardt;  was  delighted  with 
the  acting  at  Wallack's  and  Daly's  Theatres  and 
with  that  at  Harrigan  &  Hart's  and  Tony  Pas- 
tor's. 

At  weekly  reunions  of  a  few  friends  in  her 
home  in  New  York  City,  music,  art  and  litera- 
ture, were,  as  in  Cambridge,  the  subject  of  con- 
versation. 

62 


Surrounded  by  her  books  as  her  friends,  and 
by  a  few  men  and  women,  and  by  her  sons,  until 
Thomas  died  July  2,  1907,  and  then  with 
Edward,  she  passed  into  the  evening  of  Hfe, 
losing  her  eyesight  in  1909,  her  optic  nerve 
dying. 

But  even  then  she  heard  re-read  the  poetry  of 
Byron,  Browning,  and  other  poets,  and  the 
novels  of  Dumas.  She  still  went  to  the  New 
York  Philharmonic  Concerts,  and  in  the  Sum- 
mers of  1909,  1910  and  1911,  at  Bar  Harbor, 
she  was  an  almost  daily  attendant  at  the  Boston 
Symphony  Concerts  given  at  the  Swimming 
Pool.  This  life  continued  until  the  evening  of 
November  10,  1911,  when,  for  the  last  time, 
sitting  in  her  library,  she  listened  to  one  of  the 
glowing  descriptions  in  Gibbon's  Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  That  night  a  stroke 
of  paralysis  made  her  helpless,  from  the  effects 
of  which  she  never  recovered,  dving  March  23, 
1914. 

In  the  Treasure  Room  of  the  Widener 
Library,  Harvard  College,  is  a  quarto  volume  of 
inlaid  letters  and  illustrations,  entitled  Louise  E. 
Bettens,  bound  in  levant  by  Stikeman  &  Co.,  with 
no  star  on  its  back.  These  letters,  written  from 
her  home,  during  this  last  sickness,  to  intimate 
friends,  describe  her  life  of  about  two  years  and 

63 


four  months  in  that  sick  room,  and  show  that 
music,  literature  of  the  highest  kind,  and  con- 
versation, sustained  her  and  enabled  her  to  for- 
get her  age,  and  physical  infirmities. 

The  Reading  of  the  Medea  of  Euripides  to  her 
on  November  25,  1912,  described  in  that  book, 
is  but  one  of  similar  readings  occurring  almost 
daily  during  that  sickness. 

In  March,  1864,  she  lost  Frank,  her  eldest 
child,  and  her  grief  and  poverty  were  then 
extreme. 

But  she  rose  superior  to  that  grief  and  pov- 
erty, and  in  her  last  sickness  she  was  superior  to 
the  infirmities  of  age  and  sickness,  being  sup- 
ported by  the  thoughts  and  visions  spread  before 
her  by  some  of  the  world's  great  minds. 

We  may  be  living  today  in  a  materialistic  age, 
but  idealism  is  not  dead  when  a  Louise  E.  Bettens 
lives.  The  picture  of  the  Reading  of  the  Medea 
of  Euripides  shows  that  the  mind  and  soul  of 
such  an  idealist  conquers  even  the  grim  visage 
of  approaching  Death  which  ceases  to  have  any 
terrors  for  her.  Perhaps  her  life  and  aspira- 
tions may  have  a  good  influence  upon  some  who 
see  that  picture  and  understand  its  meaning. 


64 


READING 
THE   MEDEA    OF   EURIPIDES 

TO 

MRS.  LOUISE   E.  BETTENS 

FROM    A    PAINTING    IN    MINIATURE    BY 

ALYN    WILLIAMS 

FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH    NOVEMBER    25TH,    1912.    BY 
ALMAN    &    CO. 

MARIE   M.  THOMPSON 
EDWARD  DETRAZ  BETTENS 


65 


^Q  1  o 


90 


CS7/ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  LIBRARY 


